Was Melania one of his girls back in earlier days?
Executive summary
Yes—Melania Trump was one of Donald Trump’s romantic partners in the years before they married, a relationship that began after they met at a fashion‑world event in the late 1990s and evolved into marriage in 2005; contemporary timelines and profiles agree they dated, briefly split around 2000, reunited, and stayed together through a long courtship that included Melania’s U.S. residency and eventual citizenship [1] [2] [3].
1. How they met and when their relationship began
Public timelines consistently report that Melania (née Knauss) and Donald Trump first crossed paths at a fashion‑industry event in New York during the late 1990s—accounts cite a Fashion Week party or similar social scene in 1998 (some outlets place the meeting as early as 1996), and that Melania was working as a model in New York at the time [1] [4] [3]. These contemporary portraits of the meeting are the basis for the straightforward journalistic claim that she became one of his girlfriends in that era rather than a figure who entered his life only at marriage [1] [5].
2. Dating, a brief split, and the arc to marriage
Reporting shows the couple began dating after their meeting, underwent a public on‑and‑off patch (a breakup reported in January 2000 followed by a reunion), and then moved in together in the early 2000s before Donald proposed in 2004 and the two wed in January 2005 [2] [5] [3]. Those milestones—dating, cohabitation, proposal at the Met Gala, wedding—are documented in multiple timelines and biographies and establish that Melania was not a late addition but a long‑standing partner before becoming his wife [2] [5].
3. What “one of his girls” can imply, and how reporting treats that phrase
The phrase “one of his girls” carries connotations—from simply “one of several romantic partners” to insinuations about transactional or opportunistic motives—and the available sources reflect both neutral and skeptical takes. Straight timelines and profiles record the dating history and modeling background without moral framing [1] [4], while commentary pieces and critics have suggested Melania’s marriage offered immigration or status benefits—claims presented as speculation or opinion in sources that note her green card timeline and eventual citizenship, rather than hard evidence of a transactional arrangement [2] [6]. Reporting also documents Trump’s broader history of public relationships and infidelity allegations, which forms the context for why observers sometimes use loaded language about the couple [7] [8].
4. Infidelity allegations and contested narratives about the relationship
Separate from when Melania and Donald were dating, journalistic records note multiple controversies about Donald Trump’s conduct with other women—most prominently the Stormy Daniels story tied to an alleged 2006 encounter and payoff—events that occurred during their marriage and have been widely reported [2] [8]. Those episodes feed narratives that characterize Trump’s relationships as serial or fraught, which in turn colors public descriptions of Melania’s earlier role in his life, but the factual record remains: she was his partner before marriage and has been his wife since 2005 [2] [5].
5. Divergent interpretations and reporting limits
Sources diverge on tone and emphasis: lifestyle and timeline pieces treat Melania as a long‑term romantic partner turned spouse [3] [1], while opinionated or tabloid coverage frames the relationship through the lens of power, image‑management, or strategic marriage [6] [7]. Reporting documents the chronology and major public events but does not—and cannot from these sources alone—prove private motives or the unseen dynamics of their courtship beyond what the parties and contemporaneous records state [2] [4].